Trying To Be Frugal

Where did September go? September went by so quickly, tomorrow is October already, exactly 86 days to Christmas. When I think of Christmas I think of a long list of Christmas presents to buy. Every year during the holiday season, we get-together with friends and their families to celebrate the season and we always exchange gifts and shower the kids with gifts as well. But I suggested to some friends last week that maybe we should not bother giving gifts to each other anymore, to just let the kids have presents to open. We need to be practical in times like this when we don't know what will happen in the future. I can feel the effect of the economic downturn and its not a good feeling. I try to be frugal as much as I can. I don't make unnecessary trips outside of the house anymore. I always plan the day, if I need to get out of the house then I will try to do everything while out like run errands, grocery shopping, rent or take back books to the library, etc. to save gas. I buy in bulk from warehouse store because its cheaper by the bulk. I use store brands too because they are not only cheaper, they are also made by the companies who make the popular brands so they're still the same, only the packaging is different. And we don't eat out as often as we used to and that saves us big time. Anyway, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to change lifestyles before its too late.